We're Not As Close As We Thought
by Harmony Sunsinger
Summary: A gift for salomesensei, to ease her teacher woes. A small yet strong team of Chuunin falter, and Iruka and Kakashi's lives change forever. Warnings for explicit sex, yaoi, severe angst and drama, oc's, graphic character death and violence, and slight S/M


Title: We're Not As Close As We Thought

Author: Sun

Fandom: Naruto

Prompt: Lime#36 – Graceful Ends

Pairing: Kakashi/Iruka

Rating: Adult+

Genre: Pre-canon, Angst, Smut, Dark

Word Count: 3432

Summary: A small yet strong team of three young _chuunins_ falters, and life for Iruka and Kakashi changes for good.

Warnings: Graphic Violence, Original Character, Graphic Character Death, Explicit Sex, Slight S/M

A/N: Written for salomesensei, to ease her teacher woes. 33 I'm still working my way through the series, but I get the gist of everything – some details are a little skewed to work for me here, and if that offends, I apologize.

"Oi! Kakashi-kun!"

He stopped, one foot stuck out in front of him; without moving the rest of his body, Hatake Kakashi turned his head to the right, gazing over his shoulder at his two teammates. The right corner of his mouth twisted upward into an amused half-smile as he watched his two teammates heading straight for him. "Hurry up, ne?" he called back to them.

Umino Iruka and Sato Katsu hurried down the worn path through the forest as Kakashi patiently waited for them. Ahead of Kakashi, their _sensei_ stood by and watched as the younger boys approached.

Iruka playfully punched Kakashi in the arm as he neared, and Katsu stood off to the side for a minute, panting. Kakashi shot Iruka an annoyed look as he stepped to the side. "No hitting, Iruka-kun," he said softly, brushing his shoulder off. The other _chuunin_ made a face at his serious teammate.

Their _jounin_ teacher tilted his head, appearing beside Katsu quite suddenly. "Caught your breath yet, boy?" the older man wondered, causing his student to jump away in surprise.

As Katsu fumed, Iruka laughed. Kakashi smiled, genuinely amused. "Come on, Katsu," the youth called. "You too, Isao-sensei. We should get a move on."

The teacher straightened and turned to grin at his oldest student. "Oh, come now, Serious Kakashi. The village isn't that far, and, once we've returned, they'll just have something else for you boys to do. I think you three deserve at least a little R&R after so successful a mission."

"Yeah!" Katsu cried out excitedly as he ran past their teacher, catching up with the other two _Chuunin_. "Our first mission as _Chuunin_ – and we _aced_ it!" Kakashi quirked a silver brow at the way the youngest member of their team was practically bouncing from tree to tree.

Iruka laughed again, his hand settling on Kakashi's shoulder. The older boy turned his head to look at his closest friend.

Isao sat back, arms crossed over his chest, and he observed his students. Kakashi, the top of his class, was the oldest in his group – a true friend for Iruka and an older brother figure for Katsu, who was an only child. Iruka, the middle one, was the shrewdest, with the most balanced _chakra_, and Katsu… _Well, Katsu is Katsu_, he thought, chuckling patiently at the way Katsu seemed to be zipping across the worn clearing like a sugar-hyped child. The youngest _shinobi_ on his team was a real prankster, but he'd straightened out somewhat because of Kakashi's cool factor and straight-arrow principles. Part of Isao wanted to say that spending time with Katsu and Iruka had loosened Kakashi up some – but, at times, he wasn't that sure.

"Katsu!" he called, noticing then that the boy was dallying a little too far from the group for his taste. "What've I told you about getting so far from the group, boy!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, that dark, cold chill settled in Isao's belly, and his eyes widened as he sprinted forward. "_Katsu_!"

Kakashi and Iruka were frozen as they watched their teacher dart forward, and a slight breeze running through the clearing was the only clue they had that something was wrong. Katsu stopped moving suddenly, making a loud noise akin to a gurgle and a cry; blood flew through the air, and the sun disappeared.

Iruka flew into a sitting position, his grey t-shirt soaked with sweat and his short brown hair matted to his forehead, ears, and the nape of his neck. He panted hard as his hands pressed against his face, rubbing his eyes harshly; sobs racked his body as he tried his hardest to suppress them. He failed, and the tears came, streaming down his face in torrents.

After another few minutes, he managed to stifle the rush of emotions pouring out, and Iruka got out of bed to get dressed. He pulled on a dark blue shirt and a pair of dark grey pants. Sitting down in his chair, he wrapped his feet and fastened his _geta, _tucking his pants into them. Heaving a heavy, repressed sigh, Iruka got to his feet. He slowly made his way downstairs, hurriedly making his way through the house. He bid his parents goodbye for the day, and he hurried through the village – he was running late, and Iruka hated being late.

As he ran, he couldn't help becoming sucked down into memories once more – that damn dream had brought it all rushing back. It had happened so quickly, though; all Iruka really remembered was Kakashi pressing against him, both boys landing roughly on the ground as Isao-sensei yelled in the distance. For a moment, Iruka could feel his friend's heaving chest pressed against his back – "_Stay down, Iruka!_" – and then Kakashi was gone, leaving him sprawled on the cold dirt, wondering what happened to their bright day of R&R.

Another cry brought a startled and somewhat dazed Iruka to his feet, unable to stop himself from taking action. He did all that he could do – run in the direction of the raised voices and clashing weapons. Watching from afar as Kakashi dodged and moved, he realized that they had been attacked; Kakashi and Isao-sensei were fighting a pair of strange _shinobi_; from what village, Iruka couldn't be sure. They weren't from this country, though… They were quick, and the one was about to get the best of Kakashi.

"_Kakashi-kun_!" he yelled, suddenly filled with panic.

Kakashi stopped, his eyes wide as they zeroed in on Iruka over the other ninja's shoulder; catching him off-guard, the stranger placed his huge palm on Kakashi's chest and released a massive amount of _chakra_, sending the silver-haired _Chuunin_ flying through the trees.

"_Kakashi_!" Iruka shrieked, horrified. His eyes moved to the strange ninja that was now coming toward him…

"_Iruka! Move, boy!_" a familiar voice yelled, but he couldn't; all he could do was watch, breathless, as the offending _shinobi_ zipped forward, hand outstretched.

Again, he had no idea what happened – he came to on his back, dirt kicked up into the air. He listened as Kakashi yelled nearby; to Iruka, everything was still too dark. All he could do was listen as Kakashi wailed, "It was a C mission, dammit! It was a fucking _C mission_!" Realizing that something horrible had happened, Iruka allowed himself to sink down into the blackness that was calling out to him.

Shaking his head as he approached the front door to Kakashi's apartment, Iruka shoved those memories back where they belonged – in the back of his mind. Taking a deep breath, he stopped before the door, raising his fist and tapping lightly on the wood.

For a few moments, there was only silence. Then he could hear Kakashi moving around inside the home, and there was a soft _click!_ as the knob turned, and Kakashi pulled the door wide open.

The air between them quickly became thick with something unrecognizable as Iruka stared at Kakashi. Neither boy moved from the doorway; they both just stood there, the door ajar, staring at the other. Iruka found it impossible to tear his eyes away from the black cloth covering his friend's nose and mouth. Empty brown eyes gazed at him lazily, and Kakashi's new lack of expression was so severe it made him seem half-asleep.

Iruka, however, knew better; his teammate was always fully awake and alert.

The younger _shinobi_'s eyes wandered lower, focusing on Kakashi's bare and well-sculpted chest. He was only wearing a pair of black pants; his feet were bare, and his silver hair was unkempt, strands of it matted to his forehead by glistening sweat.

Kakashi cocked his head to side as he stared at Iruka. "Y'know, sometimes it helps others, Iruka, to _not_ be early." His slightly out-of-breath voice was all that hinted at his annoyance; Kakashi's laid-back demeanor seemed to be the perfect bluff. He stepped back, allowing his teammate to enter the spacious apartment and closing the door behind Iruka.

Iruka smiled. "Punctuality was never your strong point, eh, Kakashi-kun?" the younger _Chuunin_ questioned. Turning, he found his host just leaning against the inside of the door, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Ankles crossed, eyes still half-lidded, Kakashi was the epitome of nonchalance. Iruka couldn't stand it; hackles quickly rising, his dark eyes narrowed at the other _shinobi_.

Hands still in his pockets, ankles still crossed, Kakashi leaned forward, his face mere inches from Iruka's; the other boy maintained his ground. "My attitude bothers you, _ne_, Iruka-kun?"

Something inside Iruka tensed at the tone in his friend's voice. Their proximity made his chest flutter uncontrollably, and Iruka had to calm himself. "On time," he murmured, still staring Kakashi down.

Finally – an actual reaction! Kakashi quirked one silver brow, and Iruka could see where his mouth moved beneath the cloth. "What are you talking about?"

Iruka smirked. "I was actually right on time," he explained, stepping back from Kakashi, who straightened up as well. "I wasn't early, like you thought."

Kakashi shrugged, closing his eyes. It took Iruka a moment to realize that he was smiling beneath his mask. "On time, early – it's all the same in my book. You always did move too damn fast for me." Pushing himself off the door with the sole of his foot, Kakashi walked around Iruka, into the common room of the apartment. Iruka followed, watching as his friend sat down at the table close to the window.

As usual, the place was tidy and neat; the only thing that seemed out of place was the open book lain page-down on the table. Iruka slowly walked through the room to take a closer look at the _kanji_ printed on the pink cover; he snickered when he realized what it was.

It was Kakashi's turn to narrow eyes at his teammate. "What?" he demanded.

Iruka's eyes glinted mischievously. "You actually read those?" he asked, smirking down at the other.

Sighing, Kakashi stood once again. "If you're gonna make fun of my choice in reading material, then you can get the hell out of my apartment."

Iruka's snicker became a full-blown laugh. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-kun, I'm sorry," he said. "It just surprised me as all."

"What?" Kakashi fumed. "It surprises you that I enjoy erotic novels?"

His question just made Iruka laugh harder. "Well – heh, heh – yes, it does." He tried to stop laughing, but it proved difficult. "You're just so damned straight-laced most of the time… and these books are for adults!" He settled, smiling at Kakashi.

Kakashi blinked. "We _are_ adults."

Iruka snorted. "Kakashi, we're fourteen years old –"

"And we watched as our friend and _sensei_ were both _slaughtered_ two weeks ago!"

His harsh words ripped a hole right through Iruka; images of Katsu's blood flying through the air flashed before his eyes, and the teenager stopped smiling. Surprised, he stared as the other boy's anger filled the room, quickly becoming surreally tangible; his lips parted slightly as he watched Kakashi's eyes flicker with intensity, and he swallowed, abruptly becoming angry himself.

"Take off the mask, Kakashi."

The older boy glared at him. "Why?"

"Because it doesn't suit you. Take off the mask."

Eyes narrowed beneath silver bangs. "No."

"_Take. Off. The. Damn. Mask._"

"Not no, but _hell_ no."

Iruka released a sudden growl as he flew across the room, arms outstretched and fingers aimed for the cloth covering Kakashi's face. "Take off that damn mask, Kakashi!"

"No, dammit! _Iruka_!"

Fists flew, and the boys were on the floor; Kakashi landed a hard punch to Iruka's right cheek, and Iruka caught Kakashi roughly in the stomach with a right jab. They rolled and wrestled, slapping, hitting and kicking as they went; Kakashi's lip was busted and Iruka's nose was bleeding.

Finally, they froze, both chests heaving and eyes wide and staring. Clutched in Iruka's fist was Kakashi's black cloth, and Kakashi just stared at his friend, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "You bastard," he whispered raggedly as he came forward.

Iruka's eyes widened. "K-Kakashi – I'm sorry –"

He was silenced by his friend's lips on his own, and the emotion inside the room exploded as Iruka closed his eyes and kissed Kakashi back. Their lips, still connected, parted together, and their tongues met and twisted; Iruka's hands pressed against Kakashi's back as the older boy pushed the younger one down onto the hardwood floor. Kakashi's palm ran upward, along Iruka's cheek, his fingers collecting in short brown hair. Without breaking the kiss, the fleet fingers of his left hand moved downward, focusing on the band of Iruka's pants. He pulled them down slowly, his fingertips brushing briefly against his friend's hip.

Pulling away from Iruka's lips only to move his mouth downward, Kakashi relished his teammate's sighs and moans – "K-Kakashi-kun…" – as he kissed and licked and nipped along Iruka's collar.

"Shh, Iruka-kun," Kakashi mumbled against the younger boy's soft skin, "shh. Let me show you how to grieve."

Tears filled Iruka's eyes as he stared blankly up at the ceiling of Kakashi's apartment. "I… I _am_ grieving," he murmured. He felt Kakashi's lips curl against the base of his throat. "No," the other said, raising himself up to meet Iruka's eyes; there was more emotion, more compassion in that gaze than Iruka ever thought he'd see. "You aren't."

Quickly, Kakashi grasped Iruka by the hips, pulling him up off the floor and sliding the offending trousers down his legs. Tossing them to the side, Kakashi removed his own as he urged Iruka onto his hands and knees. His palms pressed against his friend's chest, pulling him back; as Iruka's back settled against his bare chest, Kakashi found the way to his friend's puckered entrance. Iruka gasped and cried out as he felt his oldest friend's cock fill him to the max; it burned and it throbbed, but Kakashi's moans were well worth it.

His fingers clenched Iruka's hips tightly, bringing him down into his lap; the motion pushed Kakashi's dick further into Iruka's ass, and the younger one cried out a little in pain.

"I'm – I'm sorry it hurts, Iruka-kun," Kakashi murmured as he thrust upward, leaving kisses along his teammate's shoulder. He didn't expect Iruka's breathless reply: "I'm not."

Bucking his hips gently, rhythmically, Kakashi understood what he meant – this pain was better than the other.

Soon, Kakashi had Iruka's body completely mapped down; the boy was receiving pleasure from the act instead of pain at last, and Kakashi, being the fast learner that he was, quickly versed himself in what it was to make Iruka shiver, to make him shudder, to make him arch his back and whine for more. His head thrown back, Kakashi bit his bottom lip as his body tensed and released, Iruka crying out as his own body went through the same transformation. A ribbon of white fluid splattered down on the clean carpet, but Kakashi ignored it. He sat there, still inside Iruka, both boys panting heavily from the exertion; it took them barely minutes to come back to themselves fully and realize that they were men at last.

Standing slowly, they separated, Kakashi sliding gently out of Iruka, who winced at the sudden soreness. In silence, they dressed before moving on; Kakashi sat down at the table as Iruka busied himself with dinner. After a few more minutes, both boys were devouring a bowl of steaming ramen; noodles hanging from his mouth, Iruka eyed Kakashi, who had finished and was currently fixing his mask back onto his face.

"Is that your way of grieving?" He felt compelled to ask.

Kakashi shook his head, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair. "No. Once we got back to the village and I had time to rethink my moves from the battle, I realized that it was my expression that got me into trouble. I'm not a good bluff, I already knew, but I never thought it would actually get me thrown halfway across a forest like that."

Iruka's expression softened. "It wasn't your expression that did that, Kakashi. It was my stupidity."

The older boy chuckled. "And that," he teased, his eyes smiling.

Iruka laughed with him, realizing that he was just joking. After a couple of minutes, their laughter faded into more silence, and Iruka sighed. "When we were at Katsu and Isao-sensei's funeral…" he said softly, and he could feel Kakashi's eyes on him. He closed his eyes. "I never thought we'd laugh again."

Kakashi rocked his chair back and forth; he knew the squeaking would begin to drive Iruka insane within minutes. "I didn't either," he replied. "I don't know what that was back there – but it made things better. It made things clearer."

The other boy smiled at him. "I know what it was."

"Hm?"

"It was the perfect culmination of an ending friendship."

His words caught Kakashi off-guard. "What do you mean?" he asked. "They won't split us up – not after all we've been through! No, we're just gonna have a new teammate and a new _sensei_, that's all –"

"No, Kakashi." Iruka met his eyes with an even, hardened gaze. "_We're_ not."

They were both silent; Kakashi couldn't bring himself to ask what he meant. He had a gut feeling he didn't _want_ to know.

"I'm remaining a _Chuunin_; I'm gonna be a teacher at the academy instead." Iruka sighed. "The battlefield isn't the place for me."

"But…" For once, Kakashi was at a loss for words. "But you can't just _quit_ after one failed battle! Isao-sensei taught us to expect death – we're going to see _several_ comrades fall before we fall ourselves! We just come back stronger and better than the last time!"

Iruka remained silent awhile, letting his friend get it all out; when he was confident that Kakashi was finished, he just said, "I'm not like you, Kakashi. My father isn't a tough _shinobi_ like yours was –"

"No." Kakashi's tone was dark, and it forced Iruka's heart to sink. "No, your father's a peace-lover, the total opposite from my dishonorable _chichi_."

The younger boy knew to be delicate – _Kakashi's father is dangerous territory_. "He was a good man –"

"Bullshit!" The legs of the chair scraped angrily against the hardwood, and Kakashi was on his feet, angry all over again. Iruka sighed. "He dishonored me, and then he _left_ me! There's nothing _good_ about that!"

Iruka stood as well, looking everywhere but at the other boy. "I knew you'd react this way," he said, leaving the room. "I'm gonna go."

"Yeah!" Kakashi yelled from the kitchen. "You go! You go back to your family, and you abandon the only teammate you have left! You go be a peace-loving academy _sensei_ – you always thought you knew me, Iruka, and you know _nothing_!"

Iruka stopped momentarily, his hand resting on the knob of the front door. "You're right," he replied quietly, staring down at the floor. "I have no idea what it's like to lose a parent, like you have – and I don't wanna know. I hope I never know what it's like to become you."

The only sound Kakashi heard next was the door slamming shut behind Iruka, and the _Chuunin _was alone again. Sighing deeply, he ran a hand through his thick, silver hair as he went into the bedroom to get changed. He would go see the _Hokage_ about a new team and a new _sensei_.

As he wrapped his feet, there was a knock at the front door. Standing, Kakashi said, "Back for another round, _ne_, Iruka-kun?" Yanking it open, he was stunned to find a boy with short, choppily-cut black hair and strange red eyes. Smiling brightly, he raised a hand to greet Kakashi, who just stared.

"Hello," he said in a soft baritone. "The name's Uchiha Obito." Turning his head, he snickered. "This little one following me up here is Rin." Leaning out the door, Kakashi could see a pretty young girl running down the hall.

"And you may call me Minato-sensei."

Kakashi jumped, whirling around to face the stranger in his common room. An older man sat there, smiling widely at him from his seat at the kitchen table. "It's nice to see you, Kakashi-kun," Minato said.

Surprised, Kakashi stared. "I-I was just on my way to see you – _Hokage_."

Rin and Obito entered behind him, Obito shutting the door, snickering. Minato just smiled. "Kakashi. You can call me Minato-sensei now."

Kakashi smiled as he regarded his new team; the only thoughts of Iruka remaining were the way the boy had sighed and shook in his embrace.


End file.
